Israel

08 Feb 2022; MEMO: Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman yesterday described those who carry smartphones as "idiots".

09 Feb 2022; MEMO: Israel Police Chief Kobi Shabtai cut short his official visit to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, returned to Israel to follow up on reports that his force unlawfully used the Pegasus spyware, local media reported.

08 Feb 2022; MEMO: The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University has issued a warning about the increasing number of parties classifying Israel as an apartheid state, Arab48.com reported on Tuesday. The INSS stressed that the reports which describe Israeli apartheid "should be an alarm bell for the future."

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel says security forces killed three Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday who had been responsible for recent shooting attacks.

The Shin Bet internal security agency initially said they were killed in a “clash,” but police later acknowledged that while the men had two assault rifles on them they did not fire them. “During the arrest, they tried to open fire and were neutralized,” the police said.

JERUSALEM, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Israel announced it was setting up a national inquiry on Monday after a newspaper reported illicit use by police of powerful spyware against confidants of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other public figures.

Pegasus, a cellphone hacking tool made by Israel's NSO Group, was used to "phish for intelligence even before any investigation had been opened against the targets, and without judicial warrants", Calcalist said in an unsourced report.

JERUSALEM, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Israeli scientists have engineered human spinal cord implants for treating paralysis, Tel Aviv University (TAU) in central Israel said on Monday.

In a new study published in the journal Advanced Science, TAU scientists created functional spinal cord tissues from belly fat tissues taken from patients.

The team used genetic engineering to reprogram the tissue cells, reverting them to a state that resembles embryonic stem cells in a process mimics the embryonic development of the spinal cord.

06 Feb 2022; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett vowed on Sunday to continue acting against Iran's nuclear program, according to local media.

"Whoever thinks an agreement will increase stability is wrong," Bennett said in statements cited by The Jerusalem Post newspaper during a weekly cabinet meeting.

"Israel will maintain freedom of action in any situation, with or without an agreement," he added.

07 Feb 2022; MEMO: The occupation state of Israel is planning to punish Amnesty International after the rights organisation issued a report which concluded that "apartheid" is being imposed upon the Palestinians, Israel Hayom reported on Sunday.

The Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in the Israeli parliament is to take measures in the coming days that will cancel the tax exemption status of Amnesty's branch in Israel.

07 Feb 2022; MEMO: The Israeli cabinet agreed yesterday to submit a "racist" law to the Knesset (parliament) despite opposition from members of the government coalition, Israeli media have reported. The proposed law was introduced by extreme right-wing Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked who appears to be banking on support for this bill from the opposition, said the Times of Israel.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli police allegedly used sophisticated spyware against a key witness in the corruption trial of former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli media reported, jolting the trial and shining a light on a contentious Israeli-developed surveillance tool.